Springboard to high-tech jobs

Free courses aim to retrain the unemployed and address the skills shortage being felt by IT companies in Ireland

L
ast summer wasn’t much fun for Zonja Bailey. An experienced web and graphic designer, she lost her job unexpectedly when her employer went bust without notice. Despite the shock, she immediately began to research her options and came across Springboard, an initiative to provide jobseekers with the chance to retrain or improve their skills through free part-time courses at third level.

“I’m not good at sitting still,” she said. “I straightaway started looking at courses and Springboard was perfect, because I couldn’t afford to pay.”

She got a place on the WebElevate programme at the Digital Skills Academy, which is based in Dublin’s Digital Hub. “I was 10 years out of college and this was a great opportunity to retrain in my field.”

WebElevate is designed to produce graduates who can work in digital media and games as developers, programmers, graphic designers, content specialists, marketing and sales executives, and project